HK protesters defy mask ban as city grinds to a halt

Masked pro-democracy protesters marched through Hong Kong in defiance of a ban on face coverings as much of the city ground to a halt on Saturday, with the subway suspended and many shops shuttered following another night of violence.

Hundreds of protesters staged unsanctioned marches and flashmob protests at multiple locations, a day after the city’s leader outlawed face coverings at protests invoking colonial-era emergency powers not used for half a century.

The latest acts of resistance came after a night of widespread chaos as hardcore protesters trashed dozens of subway stations, vandalised shops, built fires and blocked roads.

As the crowds were marching, city leader Carrie Lam released a stony-faced video statement in which she condemned protesters for “a very dark night.”

“We cannot allow rioters any more to destroy our treasured Hong Kong,” Lam said as she called on citizens to distance themselves from the more hardcore protesters.

Hosun Lee was among a crowd of demonstrators marching through Causeway Bay, a popular shopping district.

“The anti-face mask law is the first step,” he said.

“If we don’t stand up and resist, then it could be that 2047 has already come,” he added, referencing the year semi-autonomous Hong Kong becomes fully part of the authoritarian Chinese mainland.

Some protests were light-hearted, even comical. In the harbour side district of Tsim Sha Tsui, a masked man walked dressed in a banana costume, the word “Revolt” emblazoned on its front.

But in Sheung Shui, close to the Chinese border, reporters saw groups of masked protesters smashing the windows of businesses either owned by mainland Chinese entities or thought to be supportive of Beijing.

Police officers − many of whom had their faces covered and were not wearing identification numbers − were seen handcuffing one man who was wearing a mask in the commercial district called Central late Sunday afternoon.

Two others − a young man and a woman − were detained and questioned, but appeared to be released.

Small crowds shouted “triads” at the officers as the people were put in police cars.

Hong Kong has been battered by four months of increasingly violent pro-democracy protests.

The rallies were ignited by a now-scrapped plan to allow extraditions to the mainland, which fuelled fears of an erosion of liberties promised under the 50-year “one country, two systems” model China agreed ahead of the 1997 handover by Britain.

After Beijing and local leaders took a hard line, the demonstrations snowballed into a wider movement calling for more democratic freedoms and police accountability.

Lam has refused any major concessions but struggled to come up with any political solution, leaving police and demonstrators to fight increasingly violent battles as the city tips into recession.

Hong Kong witnessed its worst clashes to date on Tuesday as China celebrated 70 years of Communist Party rule, with a teenager shot and wounded by police as he attacked an officer.

On Friday, Lam used a colonial-era law to ban face masks at protests, but it did little to calm tensions.

Instead, it triggered another wave of mass protests and vows of defiance.

“The government doesn’t listen to us. So we are upping our game,” said 32-year-old protester Nathalie, as hardcore demonstrators trashed a station in the previously calm neighbourhood of Tseung Kwan O.

In the northern district of Yuen Long, a plainclothes police officer opened fire when he was surrounded in his car and attacked by protesters, a petrol bomb exploding at his feet.

Local media reported a teenage boy was shot and wounded in the same district but police would not confirm whether the bullet came from the officer’s gun.

Hong Kong’s subway network, which carries some four million people daily, remained out of action throughout Saturday, while major malls, Chinese banks and supermarket chains announced they were closing.

Agence France-Presse